FURTHER OPENING- UP IS KEY FOR CHINA’S HIGH-QUALITY DEVELOPMENT

The Central Economic Work Conference was held in Beijing from December 11 to 12.The conference discussed the plans,prospects and challenges for China’s economy heading into 2024,as well as evaluating the events of this year.It goes without saying that 2023 has been a challenging year for countries around the world as the global context has been unsatisfactory.Various geopolitical tensions have created a rise in uncertainties which have led to reduced growth worldwide and sent many economies into stagnation.In light of the critical factors affecting the stability of the global economy,China’s primary economic goal corresponds with the promotion and sustaining of free trade.

A Model of China’s Opening-up and Development

Over the past decade,China’s free trade zones have progressively formed a high-level innovation pattern of reform and opening-up in areas that extend from coastal regions to border provinces.They have become a leading force of high-level opening-up,a pioneer of in-depth reform,and a major platform that serves the national strategy.As pilot platforms for comprehensive reform and opening-up,they are now taking on a more arduous mission.

RIDING ON OPENING-UP

Forty-five years on,China’s opening-up drive has raked in an accumulated foreign investment of US$2.9 trillion with more than 1 million foreign-funded firms established in the country.A raft of policies and measures have been rolled out for greater integration in globalization.China’s first pilot free trade zone(FTZ)in Shanghai’s Pudong New Area,established to undertake transformative reforms on a trial basis that could later be applied across the country,is also celebrating its 10th year.From that single pioneer,China today has 22 FTZs,and the Hainan Free Trade Port,which are all testbeds for advancing reform and opening-up.

New Blueprint for China’s Opening-up The country seeks a broader agenda of opening-up across more areas and in greater depth

The first session of the 14th National People’s Congress(NPC)of China held a press conference on March 13,wherein Chinese Premier Li Qiang met Chinese and foreign reporters and answered their questions.When asked about the priorities of the new government,Premier Li stressed that reform and opening-up has been a crucial move that transformed China into what it is today.He also said that China would promote highlevel opening-up and inject stronger vitality into national development by deepening reform.

Artificial Self-Recovery Opens up a New Journey of Autonomous Health of Mechanical Equipments

1.Introduction With the implementation of modern production strategies,such as“Industry 4.0”and“Made in China 2025,”the development of high-end mechanical equipment is gradually reaching a high degree of parameterization,digitalization,networking,and intelligence[1].High-end mechanical equipment no longer consists of traditional single devices,but is closely linked to the overall production process;that is,a variety of devices interact with each other and collectively form a complex system.However,faults can lead to production delays throughout the system and even seriously threaten the safety of workers[2].In addition,equipment operating in unmanned air or space vehicles(including space robots)cannot be repaired by humans if they break down[3].Until recently,the typical method of addressing machine faults was primarily the“fault cure”method,which involves manually shutting down,inspecting,and repairing the equipment to restore normal operation.Accordingly,the maintenance cycle of the traditional“fault cure”method is time-consuming,and the quality of the maintenance depends on the skills of the technician[4].

Effect of Mouth Opening Training Stick Combined with Oral Massage on Mouth Opening Difficulty in Head and Neck Cancer Patients after Treatment

Objective: To study the application effect of mouth-opening training sticks combined with oral massage on patients with mouth-opening difficulty after treatment for head and neck cancer. Methods: Using convenient sampling, 60 patients with mouth-opening difficulty after treatment for head and neck cancer admitted to the Oncology Department from February 2022 to October 2023 were selected for a 2-week exercise and nursing program. The patients were divided into a control group (February 1, 2022 to November 30, 2022) and an observation group (December 1, 2022 to October 31, 2023), with 30 patients in each group. The control group underwent routine mouth-opening functional exercises combined with cork for oral support training, while the observation group underwent routine mouth-opening functional exercises combined with oral massage and mouth-opening training sticks for oral support training. The mouth-opening degree, mouth-opening difficulty level, comfort level, compliance, and quality of life were observed in both groups. Results: Before the intervention, there were no statistically significant differences in mouth-opening degree and mouth-opening difficulty level between the two groups (P > 0.05). After the intervention, the mouth-opening degree, mouth-opening difficulty level, oral comfort level, compliance, and QLICP-HN scores in the observation group were all better than those in the control group, with statistically significant differences (P < 0.05). Conclusion: The combination of mouth-opening training sticks and oral massage with mouth-opening functional exercises can effectively improve the degree of mouth-opening difficulty, enhance oral comfort, increase compliance with mouth-opening exercises, and improve quality of life.

Surgical Treatment of the Upper Urinary Tract Lithiasis at the Urology Department of the Hopital General Idrissa Pouye

Upper urinary tract lithiasis is a condition characterized by the presence of stones which is a stony concretion of crystallized substances in the kidney and/or ureter. Objective: The objective of this work is to study the epidemiological, clinical and therapeutic aspects of upper urinary tract stones on the one hand, then to compare the different types of surgical treatments and their results. Materials and Methods: This is a retrospective and descriptive study focusing on the surgical management of upper urinary tract stones, between January 2017 and December 2020, at the Urology department of the Hopital General Idrissa Pouye. Results: During the study period, 7.59% of surgical interventions performed were related to the treatment of upper urinary tract stones. Average age was 45.20 ± 16.4 years, the age group [41 - 60] years was more affected with 42.68%. A history of urolithiasis was present in 25.52% of cases. Lower back pain was present in 97.48% of cases. On URO-CT scan, the stone was located more at the level of the ureter (49.57%). The size between 10 to 15 mm was more frequent (30.96%) and the density greater than 1000 HU was more frequent (33.47%). The most used therapeutic procedure was ureteroscopy (52.08%), followed by PCNL (40.83%) and open surgery (7.08%). The success rate (stone free) was 93.68% for the URS, 89.36% for the PCNL. The length of hospital stay for open surgery was 6.76 ± 4.25, for PCNL 2.62 ± 2 days and for URS 1.75 ± 1.62 days. Postoperative complications were present in 23.52% for open surgery, 11.22% for PCNL and 8% for URS. Conclusion: Urolithiasis is constantly growing in our regions. Effective endourological treatment is increasingly replacing open surgery. However, global access to these new techniques in our regions is slow to be effective.

National Image Construction from the Perspective of Multimodal Metaphor-A Case Study of the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics

The national image is a comprehensive concept with a distinct political feature,including the international image presented to the outside world,and also encompassing the national identity of the people.With the development of globalization,international cultural communication has become a crucial part of shaping the national image,and the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics has become an important opportunity for China to showcase its national image to the world in the post-pandemic era.Based on Forceville’s multimodal metaphor theory,this paper examines the metaphorical phenomena contained in the performance and their functions,effects,and purposes in the construction of the national image.It is found that there are many scenes,images,and narratives in the opening ceremony,including war metaphor,competition metaphor,personification metaphor,and other conceptual metaphors.The focus of this paper is on multimodal metaphor in a broad sense,mainly encompassing auditory and visual modes.Through the use of these multimodal metaphors,the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics builds an image of a vibrant,peace-loving,and responsible country,which not only demonstrates China’s cultural self-confidence,but also expresses the Chinese people’s beautiful vision for the early reunification of the motherland.

Pathways for Elevating China’s Opening-up under the New Development Paradigm

Due to the superimposed impacts of new industrial revolution,the changing trade policy and the COVID-19 pandemic,the world has seen setbacks in globalization,contractions in the global value chain(GVC),and the risk of a fragmented global system.The once-in-a-century changes in our world today highlight the need for China to explore a new development paradigm based on new concepts.In the new era,China must not only come to terms with a backlash against globalization and challenges from the reshaping of international rules,but also breathe life into the“dual circulations,”i.e.domestic and international economic circulations.China must open up wider to the outside world to keep abreast with changes in today’s global governance system.In the complex and volatile international environment,we should explore new areas of development spearheaded by institutional opening up,create new gateways and platforms for opening up and cooperation for mutual benefit,contribute to new global governance and security systems,and promote synergy between domestic and international circulations.In building a great modern socialist country,China must open up wider and be more inclusive to the outside world.

Analysis of the Changes in Rural Chinese Family Structure since Reform and Opening Up

This article uses data from censuses since 1982 to reveal changes in the family structure of rural China since the launch of reform and opening up and against the backdrop of institutional relocation,social transformation and an aging population.Since the advent of reform and opening up,rural family structure and its changes can be divided into two phases.Before the 1990 s,the household contract responsibility system was implemented,labor in rural villages was still mainly engaged in farming,and the number of nuclear families remained stable with a steady rise.After the 1990 s,as reform progress deepened,substantial numbers of young and middle-aged laborers in rural villages began to relocate into non-farming sectors and aging in rural villages rose.As those born in the early days of the family planning policy gradually matured,family structure was directly affected and changed in new ways and forms not seen before.Vocational divisions of labor among the parents of young families and married offspring emerged and the significance of cooperation for family economy and daily life between parents and offspring rose in importance.Also,the prevalence of immediate families with three generations climbed while the standard nuclear families declined,the ratio of middle-aged couples with young children that worked outside the home increased,the function of middle-aged and senior parents in the upbringing of infants and children enhanced,and the commonness of incomplete family types such as only grandparents with grandchildren increased.During this phase,the number of seniors living alone surged to the point of becoming a matter worthy of attention.

Dynamic response of support systems during excavation of underground openings

Rockburst,earthquake and blasting cause some dynamic loads on rock support and rock reinforcement system.Elements of rock support and rock reinforcement are generally made of steel bar or cables,which are resistant against corrosion.These support elements may be subjected to vibrations induced by turbines,vehicle traffic and long-term corrosion in addition to dynamic loading caused by earthquake,rockburst and blasting.In this study,some theoretical,numerical and experimental studies are conducted on rockbolts and rock anchors under shaking and impulsive loading.Then the outcomes of these studies are presented and their practical implications are discussed accordingly.

Long-term complications of the transmeatal approach (Open Transcanal) in cochlear implants: A follow-up study

Objective: Multiple alternative approaches of cochlear implant surgery have been described, such as the suprameatal approach, transcanal approach, transmeatal approach and middle cranial fossa approach.Transmeatal(open trnascanal) approach has not been adapted since first described in the clinical field.we aimed to assess the long-term complications of the transmeatal approach in a series of 131 patients at our center between 2004 and 2008.Methods: This study was a retrospective case series of all patients who underwent cochlear implants with the transmeatal(open transcanal) approach from May 2004 to December 2008 at King Faisal Specialist and Research Hospital(Riyadh, Saudi Arabia), which were conducted by the same surgeon.Results: Complications were observed often with various combinations-recurrent otitis externa, posterior tympanic membrane perforation, electrode extrusion, cholesteatoma, and chronic mastoiditis. The overall long-term complication rate was 16%(21/131). The gap between the implantation and the diagnosis of a complication ranged from <1 year to 11 years. Major complications were as follows:cholesteatoma in 5(3.8%) patients, extrusion of the electrode in 5(3.8%) patients, and tympanic membrane perforation or deep retractions in 5(3.8%) patients. Minor complications were as follows: recurrent mastoiditis with/without concomitant temporary facial nerve palsy in 4(3%) patients, recurrent otitis externa infections in 7(5%) patients, and weakness of the posterior canal wall in 1 patient.Conclusion: The transmeatal approach posed an high rate of complications on long-term follow-up such as cholestetoma formation, extrusion of electrode or perielectrode reaction formation to tympanic membrane and external auditory canal.

Practical Significance of Rural Survey of the Communist Party of China after Reform and Opening up

Conducting rural social investigation is the excellent tradition of the Communist Party of China.Since the reform and opening up,the Communist Party of China has undertaken several times of rural investigation,fully grasped the first-hand data of rural development situation of China,and formulated scientific policies and measures.These promote tremendous changes in rural development.Rural investigation of the Communist Party of China covers a wide range of topics,including politics,economy,education,science and technology,health care,sanitation,and population.Undertaking detailed investigation in rural areas is of great significance for development of rural society,scientific administration of the Communist Party of China,and the construction of the socialist society with Chinese characteristics.

Update on surgical procedures for carpal tunnel syndrome:What is the current evidence and practice?What are the future research directions?

Carpal tunnel syndrome(CTS)is a multifactorial compression neuropathy.It is reported to be very common and rising globally.CTS’s treatment varies from conservative measures to surgical treatments.Surgery has shown to be an effective method for more severe cases.However few unclear aspects and room for further research and improvements still remains.We performed a narrative literature review on the most up to date progress and innovation in terms of surgical treatments for CTS.The simple algorithm of leaving the choice of the surgical method to surgeons’preference and experience(together with consideration of patients’related factors)seem to be the best available option,which is supported by the most recent metanalysis and systematic reviews.We suggest that surgeons(unless in presence of precise indications towards endoscopic release)should tend to perform a minimally invasive open approach release,favoring the advantage of a better neurovascular structures visualization(and a consequent higher chance to perform a complete release with long term relief of symptoms)instead of favoring an early reduction(in the first postoperative days)of immobilization and pain.Research towards a universally accepted standardization should be aimed for by the researchers,who have failed to date to sufficiently limit bias and limitations.

MdDGK3-like as a negative regulator participates in ALA-induced PP2AC to promote stomatal opening in apple leaves

5-Aminolevulinic acid(ALA)can inhibit abscisic acid(ABA)-induced stomatal closure.However,the molecular mechanism is unclear.In this study,we found that ALA upregulated the MdPP2AC expression and PP2A activity in the apple(Malus domestica Borkh.cv.‘Fuji’)leaves.With the promoter of MdPP2AC as bait,a diacylglycerol kinase MdDGK3-like was selected by the Yeast One Hybrid(Y1H)from the cDNA library of the epidermis of apple leaves treated by exogenous ALA.Additional to binding the promoter of MdPP2AC,MdDGK3-like was found to inhibit the transcription activity of MdPP2AC promoter,while ALA significantly eliminated the role of MdDGK3-like.In tobacco leaves,MdDGK3-like was localized in the nucleus of stomatal guard cells.Therefore,MdDGK3-like might act as a transcription factor negatively regulating MdPP2AC expression and causing stomatal closure.To further identify MdDGK3-like functions,several transiently transgenic apple leaves(including overexpression and interference)were established.The results revealed that overexpression of MdDGK3-like promoted stomatal closure by increasing Ca^(2+)and H_(2)O_(2)and decreasing flavonol levels in the guard cells.Conversely,MdDGK3-like(i)led the stomatal opening with lower levels of Ca^(2+)and H_(2)O_(2)but higher flavonols.Based on these,we proposed a new hypothesis that ALA up-regulated MdPP2AC expression via negatively regulating the expression of MdDGK3-like to up-regulate PP2A expression and the enzyme activity,which improved the stomatal aperture.Since it was the first time that MdDGK3-like was showed to act as a transcription factor,the proposed model provided a new insight onto the mechanisms of ALA-induced stomatal opening.

The 40-year Anniversary of Reform and Opening-up

In 1978,the third plenary session of the 11th Central Committee started the implementation of opening-up and reform policies,starting a new chapter of China’s economic development.A grand gathering to celebrate the 40th anniversary of China’s reform and opening-up was held by the CPC Central Committee and State Council on December 18,2018.President Xi Jinping addressed the gathering,saying“we shall never forget our original determination and keep in mind our commitment to carry forward reform and opening-up to the end.We shall endeavor to fulfill the people’s demands for beautiful lives and create a new miracle in a new era that amazes the world”.

CsIPT1b and CsUGT85A2 delay female corolla opening in cucumber by regulating the content of cytokinins

Corolla opening is essential for the propagation of unisexual flowering plants,meanwhile commodity fruits with opening corolla have higher commodity value in cucumber fresh food market.Until now,there is little research on the mechanism of corolla opening in cucumber.In a previous paper,we identified a unique cucumber(Cucumis sativus)line(‘6457’)that possesses super ovaries and shows delayed corolla opening when nutrient supplies are abundant.We also previously showed that the expression of CsIPT1b(isopentenyl transferase)and CsUGT85A2(cytokinin glycosyltransferase)is correlated with the delayed opening of the female corolla.Here,we investigated the mechanism of delayed female corolla opening in cucumber by conducting transgenic experiments,hormone assays,and yeast one-hybrid assays.CsIPT1b and CsUGT85A2 positively and negatively regulated delayed female corolla opening,respectively.In CsIPT1b-overexpressing plants and CsUGT85A2 knockout plants,the content of the trans-zeatin riboside,trans-zeatin,and N6-isopentenyladenosine was increased.Overall,our findings indicate that CsIPT1b and CsUGT85A2 were important regulators of the timing of female corolla opening.These genes could thus be targets to cucumber molecular breeding of fruit with flowers remaining on the tip.

Opening-up and Cooperation Bring about Development for All

The second China International Import Expo(CIIE)will open on November 5 in Shanghai.As the world economy faces growing downward pressure and surging trade protectionism,China,the world’largest exporter and second largest importer,has promised to make the import expo an annual event in the coming years.

Has China-ASEAN Trade opening increased China’ s carbon emissions?

This study uses carbon emission data at the provincial level in China between 1998-2018 and the proportion of the total import and export trade between provinces and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations(ASEAN)in GDP to measure the level of China-ASEAN trade openness.It examines the impact of China ASEAN trade openness on carbon emissions and its transmission mechanism,and selects the RMB/USD exchange rate as an instrumental variable to address the endogeneity of China-ASEAN trade openness variables.The impact of China-ASEAN trade openness on China’s environment is estimated within a two-stage least squares framework.The results show that trade openness between China and ASEAN positively impacts China’s environment and can facilitate carbon emission reduction.The scale,structural,and technology effects brought by China-ASEAN trade liberalization jointly promote China’s carbon dioxide emission reduction.An inverted“U”relationship is found between economic growth and environmental quality in China,and some provinces and municipalities have now crossed the inflection point of the curve,in which carbon emi ssions decrease with an increase in per capita wealth.

CIIE Unveils New Prospects for China’s Opening-up

THIS year,the second China International Import Expo(CIIE)not only continued the work of the Chinese government in escalating its opening-up policy,but also was held during the year the country celebrates the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.